"The superior man accords with the course of the mean. Though he may be all unknown, unregarded by the world, he feels no regret. He is only the sage who is able for this."--Sayings of Confucius. "There is, in a word, no bringing down of God to men in Confucianism in order to lift them up to Him. Their moral shortcomings, when brought home to them, may produce a feeling of shame, but hardly a conviction of guilt."--James Legge. "Do not to others what you would not have them do to you."--The Silver Rule. "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."--The Golden Rule. "In respect to revenging injury done to master or father, it is granted by the wise and virtuous (Confucius) that you and the injurer cannot live together under the canopy of heaven."--Legacy of Iyéyasŭ, Cap. iii, Lowder's translation. "But I say unto you forgive your enemies."--Jesus. "Thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer, thy name is from everlasting."--Isaiah. CHAPTER IV - THE CHINESE ETHICAL SYSTEM IN JAPAN Confucius a Historical Character. If the greatness of a teacher is to be determined by the number of his disciples, or to be measured by the extent and diversity of his influence, then the foremost place among all the teachers of mankind must be awarded to The Master Kung (or Confucius, as the Jesuit scholars of the seventeenth century Latinized the name). Certainly, he of all truly historic personages is to-day, and for twenty-three centuries has been, honored by the largest number of followers. Of the many systems of religion in the world, but few are based upon the teachings of one person. The reputed founders of some of them are not known in history with any certainty, and of others--as in the case of Buddhism--have become almost as shadows among a great throng of imaginary Buddhas or other beings which have sprung from the fancies of the brain and become incorporated into the systems, although the original teachers may indeed have been historical.